The Rolvsnes oil and gas discovery in Norway’s North Sea is almost five times as large as initially thought, Swedish operator Lundin Petroleum said on Aug. 27 after completing an appraisal well.

Lundin has increased its resource estimates to between 14 million and 78 million barrels of oil equivalents (MMboe) from a previous interval of 3 MMboe to 16 MMboe, the company added.

The company now plans to perform a longer production test, likely in 2020-2021, before deciding whether to develop the discovery, it added.

“If the long-term test is successful, we will develop the discovery, because it’s so close to the Edvard Grieg Field,” Kristin Faeroevik, head of Lundin’s Norwegian unit, said during a news conference.

The timing of any tie-ins will depend on availability of spare capacity at the Edvard Grieg production platform, which also processes oil from Aker BP’s Ivar Aaasen Field.

Faeroevik said Edvard Grieg’s production is expected to begin to fall in 2020, providing spare capacity for future tie-ins.

The area around Rolvsnes, including the nearby Goddo prospect, could contain up to 250 MMboe, Lundin said, adding that it plans to drill an exploration well at Goddo in 2019.

Offshore